Training of Food Providers for Improved Environmental Conditions of Food Service Outlets in Urban Area Nigeria

Environmental conditions and hygiene practices under which foods are prepared and served for public consumption are a matter of concern. The study was conducted to investigate the impact of training of food providers on environmental conditions of food service outlets (FSO) in and around a university community in Southwestern Nigeria. Structured questionnaire and “Spot Check Observation” (SCO) were used to assess the hygiene practices and environmental condition of the FSO respectively. Sixteen (16) High Density Food Service Outlets (HDFSO) and twelve (12) Low Density Food Service Outlets (LDFSO) were investigated. From the findings, mean score of SCO for HDFSO was low (2.93 ± 0.09) compared to LDFSO (4.32 ± 0.56) (p = 0.014). There were significant differences in source of cooking water (p = 0.003), solid waste disposal method (p = 0.031), liquid waste disposal method (p = 0.023) and toilet facilities (p = 0.001) between HDFSO and LDFSO. Significant differences existed in the environmental hygiene between HDFSO and LDFSO (p r = 0.789, p = 0.038), age (r = 0.631, p = 0.045), income (r = 0.623, p = 0.004) of food service providers and environmental condition. Service providers that were >40 years of age were more likely to score high in SCO in HDFSO than the other age groups (OR = 1.80, 95%CI = 1.21, 2.68). Those with tertiary education were twice more likely to score high in SCO compared to those with lower educational qualifications in LDFSO (OR = 2.03, 95%CI = 1.48 2.78). Those who earned above ?40,000.00 were more likely to have higher SCO among both categories. A 3-day food safety workshop was organized among both groups at different times, three months later, SCO was conducted and scores improved greatly. Constant training of food service providers is important to improving the environmental condition of food service outlets in high-density urban areas in order to ensure food safety.